Also known as: physical intrusions
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Direct physical entry into or occupation of a constitutionally protected area such as a dwelling or its curtilage. This type of entry exceeds any implied license granted to the public.
Officer Ramirez brought a trained narcotics dog to Phoebe Park's home and directed the dog onto the front porch to sniff near the door. The dog alerted to the presence of drugs inside the house. Because the officers had no warrant and the porch formed part of the curtilage, the physical presence of the dog effected a search that required justification under the Fourth Amendment.
The city authorized a cable company to install a permanent box and wiring on the roof of Pedro Pacheco's apartment building without his consent. The installation occupied a small portion of the roof space continuously. The permanent physical occupation of the building constituted a physical intrusion requiring justification.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A city regulation required Priya Prasad's hotel to admit third-party advocates onto nonpublic guest floors twice each week for interviews. The advocates entered at fixed times without Prasad's consent and remained for thirty minutes per visit. The recurring compelled physical entries constituted a physical intrusion appropriating the right to exclude.
State law required Pamela Phillips's coal company to leave support pillars in place beneath surface structures to prevent subsidence. The regulation prevented Phillips from extracting all the coal beneath her land. The restriction operated through prohibition rather than direct physical entry onto the property and therefore did not constitute a physical intrusion.
The coastal commission conditioned Pavel Petrov's building permit on the grant of a public easement allowing passage across the dry sand area of his beachfront lot. The easement permitted members of the public to walk within a few feet of Petrov's seawall on a recurring basis. The mandated physical access constituted a physical intrusion transferring a portion of the exclusion right.
State law prohibited Pierce Patterson from obtaining contraceptives for use within his marriage. Patterson argued that the ban forced continued physical changes and health risks associated with pregnancy. The claimed intrusion involved state compulsion of bodily processes rather than any direct government entry onto property and therefore did not constitute a physical intrusion.
Yes. When government agents physically intrude on a constitutionally protected area such as the curtilage to obtain information, the intrusion constitutes a search that generally requires a warrant or an applicable exception.
Supporting sources
Physical intrusion supplies an independent basis for finding a search even when the defendant lacks a reasonable expectation of privacy in the area. The trespassory entry itself triggers Fourth Amendment protection without needing to satisfy the Katz test.
Supporting sources
A permanent physical occupation of private property by the government or by a third party authorized by the government may implicate per se takings analysis under the Fifth Amendment.
Yes. Recurring but non-permanent physical entries compelled by regulation can appropriate the owner's right to exclude.
…ways. First, compelled continuation of a pregnancy infringes upon a woman's right to bodily integrity by imposing substantial physical intrusions and significant risks of physical harm. During pregnancy, women experience dramatic physical changes and a wide range of health consequences. Labor and delivery pose additional health risks…